Date: 30.06.2004 Manual
Revision:0 DEMON US
Page: 7
Performance Variablee.K.AmTower 16, D-54634 Bitburg
CanopySize
It is importantfor your safety andenjoyment that you matchyour canopy withyour ability and weight.
PV canopiesarebuilt inseveralmodels thatspanawiderangeofcanopysurfacearea.Anycan-
opy'sdescentrateand forwardspeedincreasesastheweightitiscarrying—theso-called exit
weight—increases. The canopyalsobecomesmoreresponsiveas forwardspeedincreases. Italso
reacts moreradically whenitis stalledor turned.
Becauseof theseaerodynamic facts,it is unsafetoputtoomuchweight under anyparticular canopy.
Safeand comfortablelandingswill be difficulttoobtain,evenforexperienced jumpers underideal
conditions. Less experiencedjumpers will haveeven aharder timeand beat greater risk.
Determining the wingloadingoftheparachuteyouintendto jumporbuyis agoodwaytocompare
canopysizes.
Wingloadingiseasily calculated bydividingthetotal exitweightinpounds by thesurfaceareaofthe
canopyinsquarefeet. Total exit weightis theweight of the jumperplusall his clothing andgear, in-
cludingthemainparachuteitself.
The surfaceareaof PerformanceVariablecanopiesis printedonthe datapanel, onthecentercell
rib,oronthecentercell topsurfacenearthetail. (Besuretoactually check thedatapanel—
canopies of differentsizes may lookthesame.)
Atypicalready-to-jumpsport piggyback (rigandbothcanopies) weighs20to30lbs.Addthis, plus
theweightofyourjumpsuit,clothingandaccessoriestoyourbodyweightto getthetotalsuspended
weight.
Forexample,ajumperwhoweighs165lbs. wearing his jumpsuitandwhojumpsapackedrigthat
weighs25lbs. wouldhaveanexitweightof190lbs.
Hereis anexampleofhowtocalculatewing loading ofa150ft² canopyand thejumperused inthe
exampleabove:190lbs.: 150ft² = 1.27lbs /ft²
Calculatethewing loading nowfor the canopyyou intend to jump.
Itis usefultocomparethewing loadingofacanopyyouintend tojumpwiththewingloadingvalues
ofparachutesyouhavebeenjumping. Ifthedifferenceis great, youshouldexpectthenewcanopy
toperform very differently thanthe onesyouhavejumpedbefore.Seethesectionofthis manual
on IntroductoryJumpsfor our suggestionsonlearningabout yournewcanopy.
Improving the Performance of your Canopy
Themosteffectivemethodsofincreasingperformanceinvolvereducingdragorwindresistance.The
followingfactors will, toalargeextent, determinethe performanceyougetout of your canopy.
Threedecisionsyoumadeatthetimeofpurchasedeterminetheperformanceofyourcanopy.(1)
The sizewasthe most important.Smaller canopies arefasterbut haveanoticeably lowerglideratio.
(2)Microline improvestheperformanceoverstandardDacron line.(3)Largegrommetsallowyou
topull thesliderdownbelowthelinks, allowingthecanopytospread out more.
